English
typical
Typical comes from Late Latin typicalis, from Latin typicus ‘typical’, ultimately from Greek τύπος ‘mark, impression, type’, from τύπτω ‘to beat’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτύπτω‘to poke, beat’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEτύποςtúpos‘mark, impression’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtypicus‘figurative, typical’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEtypicalis
- Englishearliest quotation 1989typical
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτύπτω‘to poke, beat’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEτύποςtúpos‘mark, impression’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtypicus‘figurative, typical’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEtypicalis
- Englishearliest quotation 1989typical
Earliest quotation: 1989, 1989 February 4, Spring Festival: “Also perpetual is the practice of extending greetings and…”
Formed from typic + -al
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp- ‘to push, beat’
stop, stuff, steep, stubborn, stub, stupendous, archetype, timpani, 17 more
through Ancient Greek τῠ́πτω ‘to poke, beat’
through Latin typus
Today it means
adj Capturing the overall sense of a thing.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek τύπτω / typical